Are you really free if you're not free to leave? Weary of the decline of liberty, ever-growing bureaucracy, and repeated tax-grabs by greedy politicians, one American citizen submitted the legal paperwork to relinquish his US citizenship. His answer came back: Application DENIED. And now we know, we're all just cattle on the government's farm.

The following video from many years ago titled "A Daughter's Regret" shows the testimony of Suzanna Gratia Hupp whose parents were killed when a madman opened fire in a Texas cafeteria. It is a powerful reminder of how essential it is to protect the Second Amendment, not for duck hunting, as she points out, but to protect our loved ones from maniacs ... and a government that would put us in such a vulnerable position.

There is an entertaining and informative rap video out called Gangsta Government that addresses abuses of freedom by the current Obama administration, although the essence of the criticism is at least bipartisan. The lyrics are on the same page.

A great article hit my inbox from the Mises Daily today. It is about individual sovereignty by Helio Beltrao.

The article at one point uses The Matrix as analogy... that some individuals resist the herd and take the red pill -- waking to the reality that government is myth and that most people are obliviously perpetuating their serfdom by feeding the government beast.

If you want the government people to leave you alone you have to stop obeying them. This is a tough thing to do, and it's silly to just jump in the deep end of noncooperation, so saying NO to the census people is a good starter disobedience. Have your video camera or audio recorder handy, and don't be rude or mean. These people are mostly just folks looking for some work; they aren't the government's aggressors. They probably don't realize the money for their checks comes from coercion and fraud.

The FBI has been paying more attention to so called“sovereign citizen extremists" around the country out of concerns that they will react violently when they interact with government officials. FBI’s attention raises questions about why focus on this group as opposed to others, when only 18 were arrested in 2011 and 2010 and 10 in 2009 primary for white collar crimes.